#introduceyourself
#heartgoodnesschallenge
I wanted to #introduce the #steemit community to my little cousin, Tuck. Tuck is 9 years old and is by far the coolest kid I know. Tuck is obsessed with #WWE Wrestling. Being raised by my grandmother, who happened to be a wrestling fanatic, he didn't really have a choice! Lucky for her, he loved it just as much as she did or possibly even more! Tuck has been watching #wrestling since he was a toddler and has the biggest collection of wrestlers I have ever seen.
He literally has 4 of every action figure ever made. He knows every wrestler's theme song, who they have beatin and probably their home town! He knows who won matches 10 years before he was even born. He has even gotten to meet tons of his #favorite wrestlers!!
Tuck and the famous #Undertaker (He was a little in shock on meeting him)
Woo! #Ric Flair!! He was super excited for this picture, Ric Flair is his grandma's favorite wrestler!
Tuck's dream is to be a wrestler himself someday and I do not doubt that he will be one bit! His journey to becoming a wrestler will be a lot tougher than most wrestlers because Tuck has #cerebralpalsy.
For anyone who doesn't know about Cerebral Palsy, it's caused by abnormal development or damage to the parts of the brain that control movement, balance, and posture. Most often the problems occur during pregnancy; however, they may also occur during childbirth, or shortly after birth. Cerebral Palsy is a group of permanent movement disorders that appear in early #childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people. Often, symptoms include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensation, vision, hearing, swallowing, and speaking. Often babies with cerebral palsy do not roll over, sit, crawl, or walk as early as other children their age. Difficulty with the ability to think or reason and seizures each occurs in about one third of people with CP. While the symptoms may get more noticeable over the first few years of life, the underlying problems do not worsen over time.
I know it sounds pretty rough, but it has not held Tuck back one bit. Being that his legs don't work quite as good as they should, it's like it made his heart 10x bigger. He seriously has a #heart of #gold. He is the most loving #kid in the world and so smart it will amaze you. I can remember back when he was just over 2 year sold, he was speaking full sentences when most toddlers would say a few words. He figured out video #games almost instantly. He can beat me at pretty much any game, haha. Also, not to mention he is a straight A student in school taking regular Ed classes. Tuck is part of the reason why our family is so close and strong. His drive in #life helps keep all of us motivated to be the very best we can be.
Tuck is also a bit of a goofball! He loves super #heroes and loves to dress as them. Batman is his favorite of course!
Aside from wrestling and super heroes, Tuck also loves the water. He loves going to the #beach and playing on the waves. He will swim for hours and hours.. he really should have been a fish!
On a more #personal note, Tuck has been raised by his first cousin (Dusty) and her fiance (Morgan). There were problems with his mother, who has now gotten better, but this led Tuck to living with Dusty. Dusty has been the #mother figure for Tuck most of his life and has done a tremendous job. There has been #hardships where half of our family battles the other half over custody of Tuck, but Dusty has won the battle. Dusty has and will always be there for Tuck. She has given him the #love he needs, she takes him to therapy twice a week, she helps him keep his grades up in school, she take shim on #vacations to the beach, they go see wrestling live and she just makes life enjoyable for him. The love these two have for each other is #unbreakable. Pictures do not do them justice.
Tuck also comes to visit me in Savannah a lot, which is two hours way. He likes to come spend the weekend with me, my dad and my fiancee. We take him out to eat, buy him toys and go hang out at the beach. We always have a blast when Tuck comes to town! He is actually planning to come in a couple of weeks so we can go the beach. He is getting so big, believe it or not he can wear my clothes and I am 23! Either I am too small or he is just growing too fast.
He was proud of his new toys!
All of us about to eat Longhorn Steakhouse!
Last but not least, Tuck has been doing some #volunteering lately as well. The last time he came to Savannah, he decided he wanted to go do the #walkforautism . Skylar, my fiancee. helped organize the event so her and I were going already and Tuck decided he wanted to participate as well. It brought #tears to my eyes watching him that day. Tuck got out there with all of the other people and walked almost 2 miles for kids with #autism. It was a #magical day and Tuck had a blast! We also raised over $2000 that day!
Tuck is a very special boy to me, my #family and a lot of other people in our community. He inspires us and shows us that when our life gets tough, it could be tougher. He has a heart of gold and a super strong mind set. He never lets his disability hold him back and I know he will do great things in his lifetime. Stay tuned for our next #adventures together!